US-based biopharmaceutical company Oncologie raised $16.5m in a seed round on Thursday led by Pivotal BioVenture Partners, the VC firm backed by Nan Fung Life Sciences, the healthcare subsidiary of conglomerate Nan Fung.
Nan Fung Life Sciences also invested separately. The round was filled out by China Merchant Bank and Volcanics Ventures.
Oncologie is developing a range of immuno-oncology treatments through licensing and partnerships. The company, which officially opened its offices in Boston and Shanghai as part of the seed round announcement, has multiple candidates in phase 2 and 3 trials.
Laura Benjamin, founder, president and chief executive of Oncologie, said, “Oncologie has built an all-star team of creative drug developers committed to revealing the full potential of our exciting pipeline that is positioned to maximise the benefits cancer immune therapy can bring.
“Oncologie has created a global leading clinical pipeline since its inception earlier of this year. We look forward to working together with our partners to bring safe and effective cancer therapies to the market.”
Peter Bisgaard, managing director of Nan Fung Life Sciences, said: “We are very glad to have the opportunity to work with Dr Benjamin to build this company.
“Laura brings with her 20 years of experience as a researcher at Harvard Medical School as well as an executive in the industry, and she has built an outstanding team of experts.”